Fragile
by viktriap
Summary: After Cole was freed from the Source they thought that everything would be perfect. But what if destiny decided to rip them apart anyway? Sequel to In the darkness
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **Of course I still don't own the Charmed characters. I don't own the title either - it comes from Sting (I seem to be fascinated with his song-titles lately...)

Author's note: This story is the sequel of my first story 'In the darkness'. You should read that one first because this won't make any sense if you don't.

This first chapter is just a prologue. Tell me how you like it and if it's worth to continue (I probably will anyway as I already plottedthe storyout almost to the end and if it comes out the way I imagine it will be the longest fic I've ever written).

On to the story! Please read and review! Thanks...

**Fragile**

**Prologue**

Phoebe jerked awake and sat up in the bed with a startled movement. The pictures from her dream were still vivid in her mind and she was trembling slightly. Then her eyes fell upon the man who was sleeping next to her. His face was buried in the pillow so only his blond hair could be seen.

Phoebe suddenly felt the need to leave: she stood up, picked up her clothes and dressed carefully, she didn't want to wake her lover. Then she practically ran from the flat down to her car. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to drive in her state of mind, but she didn't feel up to walk the few miles to the Manor.

By the time she arrived home the sun was coming up and her face was soaked with tears. She burst into the house and went straight into the kitchen, where she wanted to stay alone. Her wish wasn't granted though: Piper was there, holding Wyatt with one arm on her hip and cooling the milk for his baby with the other hand. Phoebe wasn't ready to face her elder sister now, but she wasn't given a choice because Piper already turned.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly.

Phoebe gulped back her tears and shrugged.

"Nothing."

Piper raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I slept with Jason" Phoebe said after a short silence flatly and dropped down on a chair.

"Isn't this good?" Piper asked hesitantly. "I thought you really liked him… or was he rude in any way?" she asked more worriedly now."

"No, no! He was very nice… it's just that… you know… I slept with him and then I dreamt of Cole…" she watched her hands instead of her sister.

"Oh… dear!" Piper said softly. "I though you didn't have those dreams anymore!"

"I don't have them… that often" she admitted, then buried her face in her hands and started to sob heavily.

Piper put Wyatt in his high-chair and sat down next to her sister, putting her arm around Phoebe's shoulder.

"Shh…" she hushed her. "It's okay… you did nothing wrong…"

"I still feel as if I were cheating on him… I know he's dead, but still…"

It took a lot of time for Phoebe to acknowledge that her true love was gone, especially as they never found his body. But Piper thought that in the last weeks – after a good year of grieving – Phoebe started to ease up again. Especially since she started to date Jason.

"He would want you to live on, Pheebs. He loved you so much… He wouldn't want you to suffer so much… especially not because of him" Piper knew that this was true but she also knew that if she lost Leo, such words could do nothing to calm her.

"But why Piper? Why did this happen…? After everything we went through…"

She cried even harder now. Piper wished she could tell something… anything to help her little sister but she couldn't. She didn't know the answers either… The only thing she could do was holding Phoebe tight until she cried herself out and she could reminiscence about the past year that was hard not just for Phoebe but for all of them.

After the Source was vanquished for good everything went back to normal. Or as normal as their life ever could be. The Underworld was quite in a chaos for a while and they were attacked rarely in those first months.

Cole was struggling for a while with his new powers which weren't very different from the old ones but still he had to learn again how to control them. But after awhile he managed it and for the first time in his life he was in peace with himself. However, they didn't know what he was – half-demon, human with magical powers, or something else entirely – but they didn't care, either. They accepted him as he was and Piper started to see him as a close friend and after a while almost like a brother.

In one word they were happy. The happiness only grew when Piper became pregnant.

Meanwhile things changed though in the Underworld. The Seer – who seemingly decided to take over the whole Hell – managed to bring a coalition of the three most powerful demons under roof. They called themselves the New Triad and – however the didn't know about it – they stood strongly under the influence of the Seer.

With this new leadership the attacks became more regular and the Seer was a very dangerous opponent. But the Charmed Ones were stronger than ever – due to her pregnancy Piper was practically invincible and they had Cole's help as well. Not meaning only his powers but also his wide knowledge of the Underworld.

So things went quite well… they should have known that it wouldn't last. And on the day of Wyatt's birth everything went downhill…

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	2. Chapter 1

AN: I want to make clear that this is an alternate universe, so things happen differently although they might be some similarities to the show. As Cole was freed from the Source nothing happened in the same way from about "Three faces of Phoebe" (or maybe this isn't the proper title but I don't feel like checking it out!). Phoebe didn't get pregnant, Cole and Phoebe didn't marry and the Seer didn't die. Other details you will probably find out as the story goes on.

Enjoy and please tell me what you think about it! Thank you!

**Chapter 1: The day the magic died**

Piper walked into the living-room where Phoebe and Paige were arguing about some spell. They did everything in the last month to get rid of the Seer – who became their greatest enemy – but with not much luck so far. Piper cleared her throat and when both her sisters looked at her she announced:

"I think I have contractions."

"What! You have to go into the bed immediately!"

"We have to call Leo!"

They talked together and seemed to panic, however they prepared a lot to help their sister when the time was here. They decided together that Piper won't go to a hospital as they couldn't know what would happen. With the baby of a witch and a whitelighter everything was possible.

"I still have a lot of time you know" Piper said more composed than she could have imagined. "The baby won't just pop out!"

"All right!" Phoebe took a deep breathe. "Come, I'll take you to the bedroom. Paige, bring everything we need: water, towels and the other things we packed together. After that we will call Leo."

They made their way to the stairs when Piper gasped in pain and had to grab the bar to stay on feet.

"I don't think I can go up there on my own!" she admitted.

In that moment Cole appeared on the top of the stairs.

"What happened?" he asked alarmed. "I heard your cries…" then he looked at Piper, with one hand gripping the bar of the stairs, and with the other holding her stomach. "Oh…" was the only thing he could say.

"Could you help us?" asked Phoebe impatiently.

"Of course! What shall I do?"

"Take Piper into the bedroom!" Phoebe ordered.

"But please, don't shimmer…" moaned Piper. "I don't feel up to it…"

"As you wish!" He rushed to her side and simply lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom, Phoebe was closely on their heels and a few moments later Paige appeared with a huge heap of things.

"I think I have everything! It's time to call Leo!" she declared and looked at Piper to see whether she agreed.

But to tell the truth she was occupied with something else. There was a new kind of pain and she felt something wet between her legs. Her mind told her that was the forewaters but she didn't have time to tell this her sisters.

The air in the room vibrated and the next moment a dozen demons surrounded them. For Piper everything happened in slow motion. She raised her hands but nothing happened… she saw Paige ask for an athame but nothing happened… Phoebe tried to levitate when one of the demons tried to attack her but nothing happened… Cole obviously tried to conjure an energy-ball but nothing happened, either…

Magic was dead.

The demons didn't seem to be surprised: they attacked physically and soon a hectic fight emerged in the small room. Piper realized many things in that moment: first of all that she had no choice but stay in the bed and watch as another contraction made her whole body tense… secondly, that Leo wouldn't be able to come… and thirdly that her family was largely outnumbered.

Paige wasn't a real fighter and she was squeezed into the corner by a female demon. Phoebe combat techniques but her face was already bruised and seemed to stand on uneasy feet. Cole took out two demons but was attacked by three other at the moment and Piper doubted that he had a chance alone.

Then she saw something else and her heart froze. There was a darklighter amongst the attackers who at the moment raised his crossbow and targeted Paige, who managed to stab the female demon and was now breathing heavily. The demons might have lost their magic, but the poison was still there and it would definitely kill Paige. Piper wanted to cry out a warning but another contraction came and only a whimper came out.

The darklighter shot out the arrow and in the same moment Piper saw Cole jumping in front of her sister. The arrow hit his back and Piper saw frightened that its edgy point came out on the other side. Cole looked down stunned and then stumbled forward. Paige tried to support him but as his whole body weight fell on her they both collapsed to the ground.

Phoebe saw what happened and cried his lover's name. Her attention wavered and the next moment she was hit on the head by one of the demons so hard that she instantly collapsed. The demon kicked her cruelly on the side, but then a female voice ordered.

"Stop!" all the demons froze and the Seer stepped out from behind the dark creatures.

"We might need them to help their sister!" she declared.

Meanwhile Paige managed to climb out from under Cole, but she understood that she had no more chance. There was a frighteningly great amount of blood on her clothes and she seemed to be in a minor shock.

"Go and help your sister! Or would you rather like to see how one my demons takes out that brat?"

Paige rushed to the bed and squeezed Piper's hand.

"Are you all right?"

Piper's breathes came in short and quick gasps.

"She wants my baby…" she knew that her voice sounded pathetic but she felt so anyway.

"You see that right, witch. That spawn will be the most powerful magical being on the world!"

"I won't let you…." Piper managed to say before she cried out in pain.

"I don't see how you would be able to stop me!"

Piper would have needed time to think out something… she knew she could have made a plan… but there was no time…

"I think it's time…" she whispered and lifted up her knees.

Paige positioned herself between her sister's legs just like they learned it on the course they visited together. The demons watched them with sick fascination. Then Piper could hear the Seer's voice again:

"Stay there!"

She looked right and saw that Phoebe staggered to the feet. Despite the warning Phoebe stepped closer to the bed.

"Didn't you hear well?" the Seer asked mockingly and stepped to Cole who Piper almost managed to forget. With a rough movement the Seer ripped out the arrow from his body. Cole moaned loudly which in a way was a good sign as it indicated that he was still alive.

Phoebe shivered and stopped immediately.

"See? I know how to make you behave!"

Phoebe just throw at her a despising look. After that though Piper couldn't concentrate on the scene anymore. She heard Paige panicking voice as she said her to push and she did as she was told. She felt the baby, yes she did and there was a lot of pain. Not just physically but also emotionally because she feared what would happen. Then it was over…

"It's a boy, Piper!" Paige said surprised as she cut the naval cord.

Piper cried and smiled at the same time but mostly cried especially as the Seer was there behind Paige in an instant with two of her minions.

"Give me the baby!" she ordered.

"Never!" Paige looked at the woman defiantly and pulled the baby closer to herself.

The Seer waved and one of the demons stabbed an athame into Paige. In the same moment Phoebe jumped at the other one, but she was thrown to the floor unceremoniously.

Suddenly a strange glow filled the room and for a moment everybody froze, excluding Paige, who collapsed on the bed bleeding heavily. But the Seer came to the senses quickly and grabbed the crying infant.

Piper knew that magic was back, she felt it. She raised her hands and blew up one of the demons. She didn't dare to target the Seer, though and the bitch using this disappeared.

When the demons realized that their leader vanished and that the Charmed Ones had they powers again they also shimmered out without hesitation.

"Leo! Leo!" Piper shouted between heavy sobs and the familiar blue lights appeared immediately.

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Leo orbed into the Manor immediately as he felt that magic was back. He tried to get there every second as the last thing he felt from Piper was pain.

The sight that welcomed him was worse than anything he ever imagined. Piper was sitting in the bed crying and mumbling incoherently. The bed was soaked in blood: some of it must have come from Piper and some from Paige whose limp body was spread out next to Piper, an athame standing out from her back. Phoebe was just standing there looking from Paige to Piper and then to the floor where Leo spotted another unmoving figure.

He rushed to the bed.

"Are you okay, Piper?" he asked worriedly while he was already pulling out the knife that injured his sister-in-law.

"She took my baby…" Piper said quietly, almost like she were in a trans and then repeated that same sentence over and over again. "She took him… she took my baby…"

Fear gripped Leo's heart as he heard this. There were clear signs that Piper gave birth to a baby… but there was no newborn in the room.

He had to concentrate back on healing though. The golden glow appeared and Paige opened her eyes. Her first words were frantic…

"The baby…!" and she looked around frightened.

Phoebe meanwhile dropped to the knees next to Cole and was also crying heavily.

"Leo!" she cried when she saw that the whitelighter was ready with Paige. "I think he isn't breathing…" the end of the sentence was hardly audible.

"I'm coming!" and he was already at the ex-demon's side, who was lying face down in a large pool of blood and really wasn't breathing anymore. However, when Leo checked he could find a very faint pulse. He stretched out his hands above the fatal wound and it slowly disappeared.

Cole gasped for air, then coughed and turned around.

"What happened?" he asked confused looking from one member of the family to the other.

Only the Piper's choking sobs answered.

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They decided to go after the kidnappers immediately. Piper of course couldn't go – however she wanted to – as she was still weak and was not herself. So Leo went and orbed Victor to the Manor to care for his daughter until they came back and hopefully brought back his grandson.

If Cole was right – and he probably was – the Seer could go only to one place. There was a Great Temple in the Underworld where all the earnest rituals were performed. From her words they were sure that the Seer wanted the powers of the baby. To gain them she needed to perform a complex ritual which required a lot of power.

They orbed and shimmered into the Underworld to just outside the Temple. They hid in a dark alley and Cole told them to wait there and he disappeared. Leo trusted the ex-demon but it was still hard to wait patiently when his son was in danger. His son! It was almost unbelievable – they thought that they would have girl, she even had a name already: Melinda. Piper saw her in the future after all!

But he didn't have much time to think about this as Cole was already back. He had cloaks with him and gave one everyone.

"We have to wear these inside" he explained.

"Where did you get them?" Paige asked but Cole only frowned. Leo could imagine it: he probably killed four demons to get them.

They quickly put them on.

"They haven't started yet. It will obviously be a great stir. Everybody is here who counts in the Underworld."

"Nice" Phoebe commented dryly.

"We have to be quick. When they bring in the baby, we attack. Try to grab the baby and run. Whoever gets him don't hesitate and don't wait for the others. Just run because you can't orb from the Temple we have to come back to the street. Understand?"

Leo has already realized that in situations like this Cole talked like a soldier. After they spend quite much time together he learned that in a way he was one. So it was easy to let him navigate them in battle.

They all nodded, pulled their hoods into their faces and went into the Temple. In there was quite a crowd but they managed to force their way to the first raw.

Leo's heart wrenched when he glimpsed the altar made of black stone that stood in the middle. That was the place where they wanted to kill his son… He won't let that happen though. He would rather die than let it happen!

He looked at his companions and saw that every one of them was tensed and ready for action.

Suddenly there was a sound of a gong and everybody stilled. Tension was almost tangible in the huge room. In the left corner a secret door opened and the Seer walked in. She had a small bundle in her arms. The baby was covered in a black blanket and was making no sound. Two demons walked in behind their mistress and closed the door. The black woman put down the baby on the dark altar and stepped forward.

"Now!" Cole whispered and already moved.

He shot out an energy-ball and the Seer who collapsed and then a second and the third at her bodyguards. Leo concentrated only on his son. He heard shouting and screaming but he run to the altar and picked up the small form. The infant was sleeping peacefully despite the cacophony that ruled the Temple. He was probably under the effect of some charm. Leo clutched the small body and did as Cole told him. He tried to run out as soon as possible.

"Out of here!" he shouted at Paige and Phoebe who were fighting in cooperation.

He didn't have the time to check if they were following him as he was almost hit by a fire-ball and had to dodge it.

"Idiots!" it was the Seer's voice. "Don't hurt the boy! I need him alive!"

Somebody pulled him up. It was Cole.

"Let's get out of here!" the ex-demon shouted and pushed him in the general direction of the gate. "Phoebe! This way!"

Meanwhile he shot out energy-balls in every possible direction and waited until the two girls started to run as well.

They were almost at the door when Phoebe staggered as something hit her on the back. Leo could see blood there. They hid behind one of the huge columns. Phoebe was pale as ashes and would have fallen if Cole hadn't supported her.

Most of the demons were running out the gates. They didn't want to fight and die for the Seer. They only came to watch the attraction. The Seer had however a good army and about twenty bodyguards were in the Temple and coming nearer to their hiding place from every direction.

"Take them!" Cole said turning to Leo. "I'll try to hold them up for a while!"

"No…" Phoebe protested weakly.

"It will be okay. As soon as you're out I'll vanish myself" he spattered and touched to woman's face gently for a second. "Go!"

Leo nodded, gave the baby over to Paige and practically lifted up Phoebe. And then they ran.

He heard the angry shouting and the sizzling sounds, felt the electricity in the air but didn't look back. They were through the gate without any more harm, ran some more and he orbed in mid-step. He felt that Paige followed him immediately.

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"We shouldn't have left him there!" Phoebe told about for the tenth time. She was pacing back and forth in the living-room. Anger, worry and something akin to desperation on her face.

"He can take care of himself! Calm down!" Paige answered also for the tenth time, but with much less confidence now.

Almost two hours went by and there was no sign of Cole. Leo had to admit that he was also worried. There were definitely too many bodyguards… On the other hand he was floating in happiness: he was sitting next to his beautiful wife who was cradling their even more beautiful son in her arms. Wyatt – when they came back Piper quickly decided on this name and Leo was very happy about it – woke up soon after they settled him down in his mother's arms. Since then Piper didn't let go off him but this was just natural.

"I know that something happened to him!" Phoebe said and Leo could see that she was on the verge on tears.

"I could orb down there and check out what happened" suggested Paige.

"No, I'll go!" Leo intervened.

Piper grabbed his hand but didn't say a word against it. She knew all too well how Phoebe felt at the moment.

Leo didn't wait, he orbed to the same place where they were two hours ago. The small alley was quiet, almost sinister. But this was the Underworld so there was nothing new about it. The area of the Temple was also abandoned, there was sign of the huge crowd that was gathering there only hours ago. The gates were open, and Leo could see that the inside was empty like the street. He slowly walked over there being prepared to orb out if any danger occurred. But there was nobody, no guards, no visitors, no sounds.

He walked in and stopped next to the column they were hiding behind. In the lights of the many torches that illuminated the room he could recognize the sings of the battle: burnt pots on the walls and on the statues, heaps of ash on the ground. And blood, quite a lot of blood. Red blood that indicated that it was human. Or partly human.

What will he tell to Phoebe after this?

There was nothing left to do so he left, and with a sigh he orbed from the street.

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For a few days they still waited for Cole to come back. Maybe he was just injured, they told. Maybe, he just had to hide somewhere for a while, they thought. But he never came back and slowly they had to accept that he was dead.

It was the hardest for Phoebe of course. She lived in quite a denial. Piper or Paige often saw her pacing in the attic, or in the living-room, waiting and praying. Sometimes she disappeared for days and then they found her in the Mausoleum where she had met Cole so many times before.

One month later they held a small ceremony for Cole and things slowly went back to normal.

The Seer wanted to kidnap Wyatt a few more times but they always managed to stop her in time. Every week there was a new attack, a new demon to vanquish and they fell back into this routine. Phoebe buried herself in her job at the Bay Mirror.

Then one day a stranger appeared on their door-step (not literally of course) who claimed that he was a whitelighter from the future. He was quite annoying and neurotic but he saved them from the Titans so they accepted him. The Titans had their use as well, namely they killed the Seer which was something Phoebe really cheered about.

Leo became an Elder and then disappeared for a while, but the girls could find him in the Valhalla and he and Piper were closer than ever before. However he accepted his tasks as an Elder Leo still was at home quite often because he didn't want to see his wife suffer as much as Phoebe did. They also were happy to be parents as Wyatt was a wonderful and magical little boy.

They didn't know that a lot of danger and a lot of surprise awaited them…

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AN2: Sorry if there are too many mistakes but I really wanted to update today and didn't let it betad nor checked it through a second time.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Note: This is definitely not the best chapter I've ever written but I didn't manage better, sorry. I hope you still like it at least a little bit!

Enjoy, and please review! Thanks a lot!

**Chapter 2**

"Did I see right that Phoebe was crying?" Paige asked after she burst into the kitchen grabbing a good cup of coffee.

Phoebe's just left a moment ago and went up to her room to get herself together a little bit.

"Yes, she did."

"And why?"

"Because of Cole… or Jason… I'm not exactly sure…"

"Oh…" her face fell immediately.

"She feels guilty because she's together with Jason, but I think I could persuade her to give this relationship a try. She is going over to him in a few minutes."

"I'm glad. She's grieved long enough."

"Yes definitely. By the way, how are things going with you and Richard?"

Before Paige could answer blue lights appeared and then Chris stood there in front of them.

"We have to talk!" he said without preamble.

"Did something happen?" Piper asked resigned. Chris was simply obnoxious about fighting demons and it seemed that he never relaxed.

"I found out that the vixar-demons are conspiring…"

"Oh my god…" moaned Paige.

"It's not that bad!" Chris assured her.

"I didn't mean those demons, I meant you!" Paige said.

"She's right, Chris. Couldn't you stop only for one moment?"

"What! Don't you see that in this situation, after the Underworld has been without a proper leader for so long, we have to stop them from organizing themselves again. There are still a lot of powerful demons who can prove to be a danger…"

"Chris!" Piper cut in. "In the last months we did nothing else but killed demon after demon. There was a new one almost every day! Now, I'd like to spend some time with my son before he grows up."

Chris frowned.

"With your powers also comes some responsibility!" he said annoyed.

"Who are you? Spiderman?" Paige asked with a serious expression but Piper could see that she could hardly suppress her laughter. She simply loved to tease their whitelighter.

Chris opened his mouth to answer when the doorbell rang and Paige used this opportunity to vanish.

"I'll go!"

Piper sighed and Chris continued.

"These particular demons would be very dangerous if they came to power because they are cunning and in comparison to other demons they can work together quite well without killing eachother…" he then shut up so suddenly that Piper turned to see what made him stop.

Paige was back with a black-haired, young woman.

"Rose!" Piper greeted Cole's sister.

"Hi."

She looked quite drained.

"What happened?" Piper asked.

"I need to speak with you … I need to speak with somebody…" she dropped down on one of the chairs.

Piper sat down next to her and threw a worried glance at Paige, over Rose's shoulder.

"Well…" Paige obviously felt uncomfortable.

Piper found it quite easy nowadays to accept a demon – or half-demon in this case – as an ally or almost a friend, but Paige found it much harder.

"I'm sorry, but I promised Richard to go over and…"

"Never mind. Just go" Piper said and her youngest sister disappeared with an apologetic smile.

"I also better get going…" Chris said. "I'll be in the attic…" with that he orbed out, as well.

Piper turned back to her guest.

"So, what would you like to talk about?"

"It's …" it seemed to be a hard topic for her but after taking a deep breath she continued more steadily. "I've felt something, I suspect that something is going to happen."

"What?"

She shrugged helplessly.

"I'm not even sure if it's bad… it's so strange…"

Piper couldn't tell that she knew Rose that well but she's never seen her so uneasy. Since Cole was dead Rose has visited them a few times and twice she talked about her visions. Both times she was right, but both times she talked about facts and told in details what would happen.

"I don't really understand what you mean."

"I don't understand it either. I've dreamt with Cole a lot of times recently" she told then and Piper was surprised by this change of topic.

"And?"

"And I always felt as if he had wanted to tell me something… but it was very fuzzy and I couldn't understand."

"But Cole is dead."

"Yes, I know" Piper regretted that she said it so flatly because she could see the pain on Rose's face. "I know but still… I still feel the connection with him and my dreams are always rather symbolic and not very straightforward."

"But you don't think that we are in immediate danger?"

"No. About that I'm absolutely sure. Actually, I don't think that you are in danger at all… Probably… I shouldn't have come at all. I just made you nervous."

"No, you didn't make me nervous. And you are always welcomed here, I told you."

Rose smiled slightly.

"Your sister has a different opinion."

"She's a super-witch" Piper smiled. "It's hard for her to understand that the world is not just black and white. It was hard for me, as well."

"But you changed a lot."

"Yes. I've experienced many times that the line between good and evil is quite narrow sometimes."

And indeed she did change. She had to admit that. More than five years have gone by since the Power of Three was born and from an idealist girl she became a hard, sometimes even sarcastic woman.

For example four years ago she couldn't have imagined to chat with a half-demon at her kitchen table. But she liked Rose and she saw what the other woman would have never admitted – maybe didn't even realized it! – that Rose was very lonely, especially since Cole was gone.

"I better get going now" Rose said suddenly and Piper realized that the silence grew unusually long.

"No! Tell me what is this all about. I really want to help if I can" Piper said quickly.

"All right… but it's a little bit complicated" she sighed. "I really felt something coming but as I told, I don't think it's dangerous.

She closed her eyes for a second and Piper thought that she's never seen somebody so tired.

To be honest I think, I came because I…" she hesitated and the blurted it out in one breath. "I miss Cole very much. I've dreamt of him and I woke up crying. I haven't cried for thirty years or so. And yesterday morning I simply couldn't stop! No wonder I was kicked out of the Underworld!"

She seemed really desperate now and Piper didn't know what to say to this.

"Would you like rather be there?"

"Not at all… or I don't know… I don't know anything anymore. I knew Cole would die and I still can't cope with it…"

"Wait! What do you mean you knew he would die?"

"You know, a long time ago I decided that whatever happens I wouldn't change things… I wouldn't intervene in destiny's roads. It's absolutely useless anyway. But then… I had this vision about Cole… it happened years ago… I saw him being vanquished and I saw a woman as well. When Cole told me about Phoebe I knew she was the woman from my vision. Then everything went quite okay and I thought that maybe… my vision was not correct after all. But it was."

Piper found this quite hard to understand but nodded anyway.

"Then the Source possessed Cole and I realized that everything I foresaw would indeed happen. And I intervened… but this didn't change the fact that Cole had to die. And I also knew that he would die because of Phoebe… in one way or another."

Piper found this idea quite disturbing and Rose must have felt this in some way because she continued immediately.

"I didn't say this to cause guilty feelings! Quite the opposite, actually! It was much better this way! He had to die, this was his destiny, but this way he saved you… he saved Wyatt and you will keep him in your heart…"

Her eyes were glistening suspiciously.

"I can't say that I totally understand you, but you can be sure I'm grateful to him and I'm happy that I got to know him."

"Thank you" Rose said quietly and turned away for a second. When she turned back the tears were gone. "It might sound stupid but I feel better…"

"It's not stupid. Grieving is human."

"Sure" she stood up. "I'll go now. I don't want to disturb any longer."

"You don't have to… I've just wanted to go for a walk with Wyatt, you could come with us. Wyatt really likes you, you know."

"No, thanks. Maybe next time…" but she smiled. "I'm not in top-form right now."

"Okay" then something occurred to her. "How would you want to go home? And how did you come?"

Rose – although she was a half-demon, just like Cole had been -didn't possess the ability to shimmer. Once she told it was because she was blind but didn't explain it further.

"Oh… you could say I took a demonic taxi to Los Angeles. From there I came with the bus. I'll go back the same way."

Piper just now realized that Rose must have been really desperate if she took such a long ride to come here.

"You don't have to! I'll ask Chris to orb you home!"

"It's really not important…"

But Piper was already shouting.

"Chris!"

The blue lights appeared immediately.

"Yes?"

"Could you please orb Rose back home?"

"Oh… of course…"

Piper could have sworn that Chris expected something else entirely.

"Thanks for everything" the half-demon said again and then they were gone.

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Next afternoon – after vanquishing at least a dozen vixar-demons, because Chris simply didn't quit on it – Piper was walking on a quiet street in their area pushing Wyatt's pram in front of her. The small boy was smiling happily at her mother who was making faces to entertain the baby.

"Isn't it good to be out for a few hours?" she asked. "There's nobody to trust and nobody is harassing mommy to vanquish ugly demons! What do you think about going to the playground?"

Wyatt laughed loudly … and the next moment orbed out of the pram…

Piper stopped with a jerk and looked in every direction frantically. She didn't have to search long... the street was practically empty, but on the porch of a nearby ratty house sat a figure. Even from this distance Piper could make out that he was a tramp and now he held a baby in his arms.

_What the hell was Wyatt thinking?_

Piper ran there. The man stood up, meanwhile and Piper could see that he was quite tall and was indeed a tramp. His clothes were almost in rags and had long, dark hair that covered his face as he was watching the baby, who miraculously appeared in his lap. Then he slowly gave the young boy over to his mother. Piper grasped Wyatt and held him close and just then looked she up into the man's face.

She looked into familiar blue eyes and she gasped. But then the man turned and without a word rushed away.

Piper felt her mind whirling. This couldn't be… she must be mistaken! Cole was dead, and this man was just some homeless guy who resembled him… _After all, I could hardly see anything from his face! _With the long hair and the beard it was hard to tell how the man looked like and he was also quite filthy…

_But the eyes!_

"Wait!" Piper cried out in the same moment as the man disappeared at the corner. Somehow it didn't surprise Piper that he did not stop.

Piper hurried after him and could see as he disappeared in one of the old tunnels of the city. She knew of course that a lot of homeless people lived in there.

She looked at the tunnel then at Wyatt. No, this wasn't a place to go to with a baby! And maybe she was wrong: she saw that man only for a second and she was also scared for Wyatt.

She walked back to the pram and put the baby back in it. She just then realized that her hands were trembling. _But why did Wyatt orb to him? _

"We better go home again mister! And don't do this ever again to me, please…" she said quietly. "But I think after I put you down I will have to come back and find out the truth…"

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	4. Chapter 3

Author's note: I know this chapter is short, but I had to stop it at this point, else it would have been too long and I certainly couldn't have finished it tonight - or this week... For those who are interested: Chris will play an important role in this story. After watching the sixth season for real (because after the many stupid things they did in season 5, I was so fed up and angrywith 'Charmed' that I stopped watching it regularly) I decided that he was quite an interesting character. (But they killed him off as well - I absolutely don't understand those people!)But never mind me - on to the story!

**Chapter 3.**

"Hey! Is somebody home?" Piper shouted as soon as she walked into the house.

"What happened?" Paige ran down the stairs.

"Uh… I'm glad it's you!"

"Why? What happened?" she asked again.

"I'm not sure… but I need you to come with me right now… Chris!" she shouted then and their whitelighter showed up instantly. "I need you to take care of Wyatt for a while."

"I'm not your babysitter…" the young man grumbled but took the baby from Piper, anyway. "Where are you going?"

"We have some business to attend" she answered and waved at Paige impatiently. "Can we go?"

"Of course" her younger sister seemed to be surprised by her flagrant behavior but she followed her obediently. Only outside did she start to ask questions.

"What's going on? And where are we going?"

Piper told her quickly what happened earlier.

"I think that man might be Cole…"

"You mean as in Phoebe's Cole?"

"Yes."

"But…"

"I know."

"I don't understand… if he's alive then why wouldn't he show up for a year?"

"I don't know Paige! I'm not even sure that it was him… but he didn't really look like himself. That man looked rather ragged and strange. Like there were not everything all right up there, you know."

"Maybe it was a demon. This might be a trick, as well."

"Do you think that a demon would give Wyatt back just so? And Wyatt wouldn't orb to a demon in the first place. It was as if he had wanted to show me that stranger."

"But Wyatt can't remember Cole!"

"Sometimes I think that he knows more than anyone of us. Anyway, it's worth a try… I couldn't be calm if I didn't take a better look at him."

"Okay, and how do you want to find him?"

"We are here!" Piper stopped suddenly in front of the tunnel entrance.

"Here?"

"Yes. I saw him go in."

There were two elderly men sitting next to entrance on a rock, smoking.

"Excuse me!" Piper addressed them. They looked up and it was obvious that they had a few drinks already. "We are looking for somebody: tall man, has long dark hair and a beard."

"Every single man has a beard here, lady" one of men chuckled. "We don't have a bathroom for shaving."

The other one laughed loudly.

"I see. Never mind."

Piper stepped inside determined and Paige followed her with little bit more hesitation.

"Do you think that this is a good idea?"

"I could freeze them any moment" she whispered.

"Oh, right."

Inside were quite a lot of people and Piper stepped to a woman this time, asking the same question. The woman only shook her head in answer. The third guy didn't know anything either.

Then a man in his fifties, who looked more sober and more clean than the others spoke up.

"I think I know the guy you're looking for!"

"Really? Could you lead us to him?"

"He's my neighbor" he said with a bitter smile. "I mean he sleeps next to me. Not a fun companion, if you ask me!"

"And why is that?"

"He's not too great at conversations… Do you know him?"

"Maybe, we are not sure yet. How long has he been here around?"

"Not long. Few weeks maybe… we are here."

They stopped next to a small tabernacle, the ground was covered with papers and some rags and there was an open and halfway eaten can of something.

"This is his place, but he isn't here" he stated the obvious.

"We will wait then" Piper decided.

The man only shrugged and sheered off.

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They've been waiting quite long in the dimly illuminated tunnel and Paige started to get a headache. Piper was pacing back and forth impatiently while Paige sat down on a piece of newspaper.

"Maybe we should come back another time."

"I don't know. Let's wait half an hour and then we can go, okay?"

"Why not? I have nothing better to do than sit in a dark, wet and stinking tunnel…"

In that moment they heard approaching footsteps and both looked in the direction. A man appeared at the corner, carrying a small paper bag. Then he saw the two women and stopped abruptly. Paige thought for a moment that he would turn and run away. He looked like a deer caught in the headlight.

"Please, don't go away!" Piper said quietly, she obviously thought the same as Paige. She slowly stepped closer and studied the stranger in the dim light.

"It's really you! What are you doing here? Why didn't you come home? Do you know how Phoebe is suffering because of your _death!"_

Paige saw that Piper lost her nerves but also saw the panicking look on the man's face. He took a step backwards and the paper-bag fell from his hands. An apple rolled out of it.

"Piper! You will scare him away" she said quietly, stepped closer and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. Then turned to the man. He really looked like Cole, she had to admit.

"Cole?" she asked in her best social-worker voice, nice and sympathetic. "Do you recognize us?"

He turned at her and she almost could read the question from his eyes: _Should I know you? _But he didn't say a word.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" she asked next.

That strange look in his eyes, that was quite familiar – she saw this in drug-addicts… and also in traumatized people quite often during his time at the social-service. This confused, lost and frightened look. She didn't know what could have happened to him, but Piper was right: he was not like his old self.

This time he answered with a slight nod, then bent down and picked up the apple and the bag, but meanwhile he didn't take his eyes off of the women. As if they would oppose some danger to him. He walked to his sleeping place, carefully avoiding to go too close to them.

"You could come home with us… You would be safe there…"

He didn't react just started to rummage around in his things.

"Hey, Cole!" Paige tried again. "Wouldn't you want to sleep in a bed? Taking a shower maybe? You don't have to stay there if you don't want to…"

"Phoebe would be there" Piper put in and hearing the name Cole visibly tensed.

Then he must have found what he was looking for because he turned to them again with a small, mussy piece of paper in his hand. He hesitantly held it out to the girls. It was some drawing.

"What is that? Did you draw it?" Paige asked.

Piper took it carefully and gasped. Paige bent over to see it clearly. It was a drawing, not a masterpiece but recognizable. It was a portrait of Phoebe.

"So, you remember Phoebe?" Piper asked gently. "She is there, just come with us. You know that she is a friend…"

Cole slowly nodded. His continuing silence was rather disquieting for Paige.

"Then come" Piper said and touching his arm she led Cole out of dark tunnel.

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	5. Chapter 4

AN: Sorry it took so long again, but I had to pass a very strict exam and I had to learn a lot. But now I'm over it so here is the next chapter. Read and enjoy! And tell me what you think about it!

Chapter 4.

They walked rather slowly because Cole stopped after every five or six steps and needed some encouragement to go on. He still seemed hesitant to follow them. Mother-instinct took over the wheel in Piper and she achieved that the man followed her instructions every time.

Paige couldn't stop wondering what the hell could have happened to Cole. She couldn't say that she always liked him but in the end she had started to trust him and always laughed about his jokes. So, she could tell that she accepted him as family.

Now, he was nothing like the man she used to know. He looked like those crazy homeless people who you could meet at every corner on the streets. Mostly, he only looked confused but once in a while his eyes went distant, almost empty as if he were watching something only he could see.

When they came in view with the manor he stopped again and stared at the building.

"Don't worry, that is our house. You lived there too, don't you remember?" Piper explained.

"Isn't that Phoebe's car?" Paige asked suddenly.

"Oh my God…" Piper whispered. "What the hell will we tell her?"

They didn't have the time to make up a plan because the front-door opened and Phoebe stepped out, closed the door and when she turned she caught sight of her sisters. Her waving hand stopped abruptly and she just stared at them as if frozen. This lasted a while but then she burst into running. She was at their side in seconds.

"What…? How…?" No coherent questions came from her, only babbling and Piper started to worry for her health. "Oh my God…" Phoebe whispered then and with a wild movement she jumped in Cole's neck.

She hugged him very tightly and Cole obviously didn't know what to do with the slightly hysteric woman. First he tensed but had no chance to pull away so after a while he hesitantly hugged back. Phoebe sobbed and laughed at the same time which made her not less mad-looking than the man she was hugging.

Then suddenly she tensed and Piper knew that she was having a premonition. For a moment she stayed that way but then Cole sensed that something was wrong and pulled away.

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Phoebe has never felt such a wide range of emotions, especially not when those emotions all belonged to herself. She couldn't make up any coherent thoughts: it was almost as if she were dreaming. It must have been a dream for sure, but at the moment she didn't care. She just ran down the stairs and over the street. She didn't see Piper or Paige, she didn't see the curious neighbor, Mrs. Wilson, either. She had eyes only for Cole who was standing there in front of her, alive, even if a little bit stunned.

She needed to touch him, needed to feel his breath on her skin and she hugged him tightly. So tightly that for a moment she feared that she would strangle him. And then suddenly the familiar feeling came as she was pulled into a vision. But she knew that it wasn't a premonition, it was a memory.

_They were in a cave, surely in the Underworld. Two demons held Cole in a standing position and a third one stood behind him. That third demon had something coming out of his palm – something like a lean tentacle. Its end dug into the back of Cole's neck. He was writhing and tried to free himself, but the demons held on tightly and the tentacle seemed to push deeper. The next moment Cole's whole body tensed and his eyes went hazy… _

She was on the street again, leaning against Piper. Cole was moving away edging slowly backwards. Phoebe just now realized how haggard and haunted he looked like.

"What did you see?" Piper asked quietly.

"I don't know… a demon did something to him but I don't know what and he shot down the connection when he pulled away…"

"Something is very wrong with him" Piper said. "I'm not sure he even knows who we are… or who _he _is…"

"We have to take him in the house. Cole… dear… come with me. Come home."

He stood frozen and Phoebe could see the conflicting emotions in his eyes: trust, fear, suspicion.

"I'm Phoebe, do you remember? I love you, you can trust me" she talked in a gentle tone and stretched out her hand to encourage him.

He looked at her and Phoebe felt pain and confusion radiating from him. Then he slowly nodded but didn't take the offered hand.

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Some time later Piper and Phoebe were with Cole in the bathroom. He urgently needed a good shower and some new clothes. What he was wearing now were really more like rags than real clothes – rags in more layers. Piper helped him unbutton the coat-like thing, under it there was a jumper and then a T-shirt. Some time ago it was white, now it was a dark shade of grey with torn holes on it. Around his wrists there were some self-made bandages – also in a bad shape.

"We should take those off immediately…" Piper said.

Phoebe was just sitting on the edge of the bathtub as Cole obviously didn't want her to touch him again. Piper saw that her eyes were glistening with unshed tears, but she kept a firm hand on her emotions.

To tell the truth Piper also found the situation disturbing. She always thought – even before she had started to like him – that Cole was a strong man. What could have happened to him that turned him into this broken soul?

But she waved these thoughts away to help him now because he had some difficulties with undoing the bandages.

Piper gasped when she saw what was under them: deep, ugly, half-healed wounds around both wrists in wide stripes. Hearing the sudden sound Cole pulled away again.

"It's okay…" Piper said immediately. "I think we need Leo to heal these" she said to Phoebe. "And maybe he should stay here to help Cole with the showering."

"I'll go and call him" her sister said throwing a last worried look at her love.

Leo came immediately and Piper left the two men alone in the bathroom and joined Paige and Phoebe in the living-room.

"I looked after Wyatt, he's sleeping and I let Chris go."

"Thanks."

Phoebe was pacing back and forth and the tears were now running down her face.

"This was my fault…" she said. "I should have known that he was alive… I should have felt it…"

"Phoebe! We all thought that he was dead" said Paige.

"Yes, we looked for him and there was no sign" Piper added.

Phoebe didn't really listen instead she sat down and buried her face in her hands. She stayed that way until – almost half an hour later – Leo came down.

"Where is he?" Phoebe asked.

"I asked him to stay upstairs while we talk" Leo answered.

"Did he tell you something?" Piper asked.

"Not a word" he sighed and sat down next to his wife. "I healed his wrists and some other injuries I found."

"What's wrong with him?" asked Phoebe.

"He has a lot of scars and lost a lot of weight, he obviously is largely under-nourished. As for his mental state… I'm not sure if it has a physical reason or magical…"

"I think it's magical" Phoebe said. "That demon in my vision… it did something to his mind…" she gulped back the upcoming sobs.

"How did that demon look like?" Piper asked. "We should look him up in the Book."

"Long, black hair, pale skin, dark eyes, very tall and a tentacle-like thing came out of his palm…"

"All right. But before you do anything else, you should put Cole to bed" Leo said. "He seems to be extremely tired, he almost dozed off while I was checking him over."

"I'll do it" Phoebe said and stood up. "And I'll stay with him."

"Do you feel up to it?" Piper asked.

"Yes. I want to be there for him…"

"Okay then. Paige you come with me and Leo, please go and ask around a little bit."

"Okay."

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Phoebe was sitting next to the couch where she made bed for Cole and watched his sleeping form. He fell asleep as soon as he put down his head but had quite a troubled sleep. He was tossing and turning and mumbling incoherent words. Phoebe saw him like this many times before, because he has always been a restless sleeper. At least she knew now that he wasn't mute because of some physical cause.

Leo shaved him and cut his hair and it was visible now how pale and emaciated his face was. But in other ways he was still the same and Phoebe felt the need again to touch him.

She bent forward and caressed his cheeks and then put her hand on his forehead. His body twitched but didn't pull away and she felt it was a good sign. Then she had a strange feeling: her empathic power raised its head and stretched out its fingers. She hesitated but then let it go and the next moment found herself under the attack of flowing pictures, fractures of the past that were Cole's dreams.

_Cole was kneeling in front of the same demon she had seen before. The tentacle dug deep in the back of his neck, his eyes were hazy, his body rigid. Then the demon pulled out the tentacle and smiled with satisfaction. Cole's eyes rolled back and his body collapsed to the cave-floor. _

"_It was fun, wasn't it?" the demon asked and waved at two others who stood at the wall. "Take him back!"_

_x_

_The picture changed and they were in an other cave, or more like some kind of mine. There were more people, men and women. Cole was supporting a young woman and was talking to her in a quiet voice:_

"_It will be all right… We will find a way, just hold on, okay?"_

_The woman nodded hesitantly._

_Then there was the same woman with empty eyes, hugging her knees and slowly rocking back and forth. _

_x_

_Then a very battered-looking Cole sitting next to a man._

"_I'm so sorry, Neil…" his words were no more than a whisper._

"_You couldn't do anything else…" the man answered._

_x_

_Then a much older memory in which Cole seemed to be about eighteen. He was sitting in a very small room, crossed-legged on the floor and writing something. Then suddenly an older man appeared – this was somebody Phoebe knew: Raynor. Cole jumped up immediately. _

"_I have a task for you" the older demon said and raised a photo about a young man. "This is a witch, every needed information is in this envelope" he dropped the envelope on the desk that occupied a good part of the room. "Kill him quickly."_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_I'll wait your report in two days and don't disappoint me because this is a special request of the Source."_

"_I'll do my best."_

"_I expect nothing less!"_

_x_

_The man from the photo lying on cobble-stones in broad daylight, his throat cut open, blood dripping from an athame that Cole slowly wipes in his black trouser. _

_x_

_Scenes from a battle in the Underworld. Darkness, injured demons lying around with missing body-parts. Energy-balls flying in the air in every direction, screams and shouting. _

_x_

_Cole face to face with the Source of All Evil._

"_I'll stay, just let her go!" Cole said._

"_Do you think it's so easy? You betrayed me Belthazor and this always has consequences."_

_There stood more demons around and the Source talked to one of them._

"_It seems you can have your wish Baran! Take her but make sure that she doesn't die…"_

"_No!" Cole jumped forward in blind rage and attacked the Source. The next moment he was pushed back with impossible strength and hit the wall so hard that some bones audibly cracked. The Source stepped closer, waved and chains appeared around Cole's wrists and ankles._

"_From now on you're a prisoner until I decide that you changed enough to serve me again!"_

_x_

Then the pictures followed each-other more quickly and Phoebe couldn't make out much sense of them:

_A man bursting into flames… the Seer raising a knife that looked like as if it was burning… the Source again with a smirk on his face… a young girl _(who as Phoebe guessed was Rose)_ crouching in a dark room, bandages over her eyes… Belthazor breaking the neck of a woman with one single motion… the Temple where they found Wyatt… then Phoebe herself, covered in blood and making rattling sounds, obviously dying…_

Phoebe suddenly pulled away her hand and jumped up, knocking the chair - she was sitting on - over. In the same moment Cole sat up on the couch gasping for air with wild eyes.

Phoebe quickly pulled herself together. She shouldn't have done this in the first place: this was as if she had infiltrated in his most private sphere.

"It's okay" she said. "It was only a dream… you're in the Manor and you're safe here."

He wasn't really awake but clearly could hear the shooting words and slowly calmed down, lied back down and slept in again.

Phoebe stayed there during the whole night, watching him but didn't touch him again.

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The days went on but with not much change. They couldn't find the demon in the book but Leo found some information about him. As he told the demon's name was Gardior and he was one of the most powerful lords in the Underworld. He rarely came to the surface because he was mostly experimenting out new weapons for other demons. Rumors said that he searched for magical stones in the Underworld's mines where he worked humans. This at least gave sense to the memory Phoebe saw about that mine. Gardior had a lot of powers and one of those was this special tentacle in his palm with which he could drive everybody mad. How he did this exactly, nobody knew.

Just like nobody could tell where this Gardior could be found.

At least they had an explanation for Cole's state of mind but they still couldn't find a way to help him. So, they decided the best way was to handle him as normal as possible and so they did.

They wanted to involve him in their everyday-life so it was natural that when Piper and Phoebe were brewing a potion he was around in the attic. He might have forgotten how to speak but he still remembered a lot of things about magic and he always gave them the proper ingredient sometimes even without asking.

"I think it will work now" Piper concluded when Cole went to the shelves put something and gave it over to Phoebe.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot!" she dropped a pinch in the potion. "Thanks, now it will really work."

Cole just nodded and went back into the corner to the book he was reading. Since the first day he helped a lot around the house, he did everything they asked of him but the only things he did alone, was reading and sitting on the porch and watching the sky.

The girls started to fill the potion in small vials. They worked silently… until suddenly with a banging noise a demon appeared in the middle of the attic.

Phoebe threw a vial at him without hesitation but when the smoke settled down the demon still stood there with a nasty smirk on his face.

"You need more than this to vanquish me, witches!" he said, raised his left arm and with a wave threw Phoebe over the table and into the wall.

Piper tried to blow him up but it didn't work and the next moment she flew into the wall as well and hit her head badly. The demon laughed out and said:

"Now there's nothing to stop me!" and with that shimmered out.

Piper felt falling into the blackness but she still could think clearly enough to realize what this was all about.

"No!" she cried. "Wyatt…"

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Cole saw what happened and heard Piper's words. The baby! The demon wanted Wyatt… For a moment he felt frozen but then looked around…

He needed something because he couldn't use his powers, just like he lost the ability to speak. Suddenly he felt very frustrated. Usually it didn't bother him because his mind was too fuzzy to know what was really going on but now it was different. He knew that he hadn't been like this before… and then something kicked in. He saw the athame on the shelf and took it. It fitted in his palm perfectly.

He ran out and down the stairs to the baby's room.

The demon was there and Wyatt's shield that Cole had already seen a few days ago was up. But the demon had something around his wrist, some kind of amulet and he managed to slowly push through the shield.

Just in the moment as the demon felt that somebody came into the room and turned, Cole threw the knife. It hit the demon deep in the chest but on the wrong side. If he hadn't turned it surely would have hit his heart and whatever amulet saved him from the girls' magic he would have been dead in an instant.

This way he was just badly injured and it didn't stop him from using his power. Cole was thrown in the air and he landed onto a cupboard that fell into pieces. Something stabbed into his shoulder and he hit his head quite badly. His vision blurred but he could see the blue lights that appeared in front of the cot. _Thank the gods, it must be Leo!_

But it wasn't Leo. It was that guy – _what was his name again?_ – yeah, Chris… the new whitelighter. Chris moved his right arm and the amulet was torn from the demon's wrist… _But how the hell did he do this? _Cole's mind might have been confused even amongst the best circumstances but he knew one thing: whitelighters didn't have the power of telekinesis. Then Chris took out a vial and threw it at the demon who burst into flames.

_Who the hell can he be? _was the last thought Cole had before he blacked out.

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9


	6. Chapter 5

AN: Here's the sixth chapter and with this this is oficially my longest story! It's not a long chapter but the story demanded a stop here! Read and enjoy and please review! Thanks!

Chapter 5.

Chris orbed into the Manor as soon as possible. After he has just heard, he knew that he had to hurry. He had a lot of informants in the Underworld. This was the first thing he cared about when he came to the past. The first place he went when he arrived was the Underworld. It wasn't that hard to find help there as he knew how to blend in there, he had enough experience.

It was very useful to know about the plans of the enemy. He's heard just now that this not so powerful demon, called Shar, stole a powerful amulet from a sorcerer. This amulet made possible for him to repulse every kind of magic. And Shar boasted everywhere that he would get the Twice-Blessed child and give him over to the Great Council. The Council was once the consultative board of the Source and at the moment the only leading authority of the Underworld. Of course there were some powerful demons who worked on their own and tried to gain more and more power but the warlocks and the weaker demons served and supported the Council.

When Chris heard this news he orbed to the P3 where he stored up quite a lot of different vanquishing potions (using mostly the supply of the Halliwell Manor) and took the strongest and then orbed to the Manor, into Wyatt's room.

The scene that greeted him wasn't very promising. Wyatt was screaming his lungs out in his cot, his face red with despair. Piper, Phoebe and Paige were nowhere to be seen. Cole was lying amongst the ruins of the cupboard in which Piper kept Wyatt's clothes. He was blinking dizzily, obviously on the verge of unconsciousness. And the demon was turning back to the cot to get hold of Wyatt.

Chris didn't hesitate but used his power. He swore that he won't use it in the house but there was no other choice now and on the other hand there was nobody who could get suspicious. Or could tell the girls.

The amulet landed on the floor and with that Shar became vulnerable again. Then the potion curted with him easily enough.

This was a close call and Chris sighed relieved when the demon vanished. He stepped closer to the cot but Wyatt didn't lower the shield. _How typical_… Chris suspected that the baby must feel his controversial feelings. On one hand he loved Wyatt more than anybody else, but he couldn't suppress that different emotion that was very close to hate and despise. And he was ashamed of it. After all, _this_ Wyatt was only a baby…

But now he had other things to do than analyze his own emotions. He felt that his charges were upstairs. At least two of them were and one of those was Piper. He wasn't that good in feeling them as he was only a half-whiteligther but Piper he always could find easier than the other two.

He orbed to the attic and found Phoebe and Piper there, both unconscious however the elder sister was making some noises that indicated that she was slowly coming to.

When he bent over her, she opened her eyes.

"Wyatt!" it was almost a scream and Chris flinched hearing the sharp tone.

"He's okay. The demon is gone."

"How…?"

"I'll tell you later. Leo!"

The Elder appeared immediately.

"What's wrong…?" he's hardly finished the question when he glimpsed the two women lying on the ground.

"I think Phoebe needs some healing" Chris said and then turned back to Piper. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Take me to Wyatt."

He took her arm and orbed. This time when they arrived in the room, the baby stopped crying and lowered his shield. Piper ran to him and got him out of the cot hugging him tightly.

"It's okay, sweetie… mommy is here…" she said and put some kisses on the top of his small head.

Meanwhile Chris stepped to Cole who was still out cold. One piece of wood pierced into his shoulder and Chris pulled it out then put his hands over the wound. He wasn't such a great healer that's why he usually asked for Leo when one of the girls was injured. The fact that Leo was a member of the family was a good excuse for it, else somebody would have surely asked about it by now. But he could heal, even if a little bit slowly but this case was no emergency.

Soon Cole opened his eyes and the first thing Chris saw in them was suspicion. _Shit! Did he see me using my powers? _He thought immediately but he waved the thought away. Even if Cole saw it he wouldn't be able to tell anybody and maybe this was just the common mistrust that Cole showed towards everybody. However Chris rather pulled away and let the elder man struggle to the feet alone.

Chris stepped to the corner instead where the amulet fell and took it. It was made of red stone, in the middle an eye circled by two snakes.

"I'll better put this away" he announced.

"I want to hear what happened so don't go away. I'll see you in the attic in a minute" Piper said.

"Okay" and he orbed out not too enthusiastically.

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Piper felt so relieved that she could hold Wyatt in her arms that she didn't even see what was happening around her. Since the day Wyatt was born she was highly overprotective – she knew it – but what else could she do when demons wanted her baby even before he was born! But after a few minutes she calmed down a little bit and watched how Chris healed Cole and picked up that medallion from the floor. She wanted to know what happened and who this demon was. She wanted to know everything that was in connection with his son.

When Chris orbed to the attic – _at least she hoped he orbed there, but you could never know with him!_ – she turned to Cole.

"Are you okay?"

The man was scraping his head as if it hurt but seemed to be all right. Piper didn't expect an answer and she didn't get any but she continued.

"You shouldn't have run after the demon, it could have killed you."

Cole just looked at Wyatt and his eyes told everything. Wyatt stretched out his small arms towards the ex-demon and laughed happily. Piper looked from Cole to his son and then decided quickly.

"You can hold him if you want because as I see it he wants to go to you!" she said.

Cole looked at her stunned and for a moment Piper thought that he would rather run away than take the baby but then he took the offer tentatively. Wyatt made himself comfortable in his arms instantly.

"Could you take care of him while I talk to Chris in the attic? It won't take long, I promise!"

Cole sat down on the bed with Wyatt and it was as good an answer as she could get out of him so she went.

And then it actually took quite long. First they had an argument about the anarchy in the Underworld (which was nothing new considering how it was the fixa idea of Chris!) then Paige orbed in and they had to tell her as well what had happened. So when Piper came back to the baby's room she was a little bit nervous. Cole wasn't really the ideal babysitter after all!

But when she was through the door of the room she stopped immediately and smiled. Phoebe was right on her heels and she snickered.

"Oh My! Aren't they cute?" she exclaimed.

Cole was sleeping soundly on the bed and Wyatt was lying on his chest, sucking on his thumb and with his other hand grasping at Cole's shirt.

"Yes they are, but I better put Wyatt into his cot before he rolls down."

She stepped to the bed and tried to raise Wyatt but as soon as she touched him his small fist tightened around the shirt and he whimpered quietly.

"I think he doesn't want to go into his own bed" Phoebe whispered. "And…I haven't felt such peace around Cole since he came back" she added.

"All right but I'll stay here!" Piper decided.

She pulled the rocking chair next to the bed and sat down.

"Could you bring me my book from my room?"

"Of course."

So in the next two hours she sat there reading until Wyatt started to bustling about and this woke up Cole as well. And Piper realized that this was the first time that the man slept without any nightmares.

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The next two weeks were absolutely calm. They had some free time which Paige used for dating, Phoebe for working and Piper for being with her family. The evenings though they tried to spend together and Piper asked Cole to look after Wyatt frequently. It seemingly helped him to get back to normal. There were times when he seemed as if he almost said something but those minutes always passed by until now.

"…and then Richard asked me to stay there for another day, and we went out to the beach and he packed in a real picnic-basket. You can't imagine how romantic that was!" Paige stopped suddenly when she glimpsed the shy smile on Cole's face. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

Paige wanted to tell every single detail about her two days with Richard but nobody was there to listen. Piper had to put Wyatt to bed and Phoebe had to stay in for some meeting. And they usually stopped her after half an hour. Cole, on the other hand listened to her… or at least never cut in for obvious reasons.

The two of them were doing the dishes after a slender dinner and the house was peacefully quiet.

"All right, I'll shut up… for a while" she said.

It was strange how her relation with Cole has changed in the last few days. She might have accepted him earlier as Phoebe's love but they never were close and she would have never called him a friend. Now though – however their conversation was rather one-sided – she started to see him in a different light. She didn't even know why. Maybe because for the first time she saw the vulnerability in him.

Paige was putting away the last of the plates when she heard something and turned. In the middle of the dining room a demon appeared – or at least she guessed he was a demon. He looked like a man – he was tall, thin and pale, and had long, black hair. She had a guess who he was after Phoebe's description…

She cried out for Piper and the next moment she was thrown into the wall. She didn't lose consciousness but she felt dizzy and she couldn't stand up instantly.

"So, here you are!" the demon said turning to Cole.

Paige saw that Cole practically froze.

"It's time to come back to your master!"

"No!" it was Piper who came down the stairs taking two at a time and tried to blow up the demon in mid-step. But it didn't work…

"Do you think that I came here so unprepared?" the demon asked laughing and with a wave sent Piper flying into the opposite wall.

Meanwhile Paige managed to stand up.

"Knife!" she shouted and sent the weapon into the demon's general direction. But to her distress the knife was deflected easily and she found herself on the ground again.

"I'm not interested in you! Don't make me change my mind! I just want my property back."

While talking he stepped closer to Cole who was still standing at the counter, trembling slightly. Suddenly though a blue energy-ball appeared in his right hand. He looked at it surprised but threw it at the demon without hesitation.

The attacker stumbled but didn't stop and the next instant he grabbed Cole by the throat and pushed him against the counter.

"You didn't think this over, I suppose!" he growled threateningly.

Piper stood up but the demon obviously felt it and he threw a lightning bolt at her way that made her stop.

"Sorry, but we have to go now. We need to have a little chat about his behavior" and with that he shimmered out taking Cole with him.

"Oh no…" whispered Piper. "Are you okay?"

Paige just nodded.

"Then go and get Phoebe! Chris!" she shouted without a pause.

Paige threw a last look at her sister and the forming orbs of their whitelighter and then orbed out.

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	7. Chapter 6

AN: Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it. I know it's short but it had to end here, I hope you understand. Thank you for reading and please drop a review if you liked it!

Chapter 6.

They were back in the Underworld. Gardior let go off Cole's throat and pushed him to the ground. For a few seconds he could only gasp for air and his mind was even more fuzzy than normally. It didn't matter though how confused he was, he still knew what would happen. He heard the girls talking about Gardior and heard Leo telling them that nobody knew how the demon made people crazy. He could have told them… if he were able to. He had enough experience.

Now he desperately concentrated on shimmering… He could conjure an energy-ball in the kitchen so maybe… he felt the cave fading around him but then he knocked into something… the cave-walls! Oh no… not when he was so close!

He was still in the cave and Gardior was still there smiling at him with a nasty smile. And there was something in his hand.

"Do you remember these?" he raised the two leather-like straps. Cole tensed just by seeing them. "I see you do! I have no idea how you could get rid of them but it won't happen again I assure you."

Cole wanted to tell something to this bastard who he hated with a passion but the words – just like in the last five months, or so – didn't come. As if there was a barrier in his mind, a thick wall that didn't let the words through.

So he just clenched his fists defiantly.

"Come here!" the demon ordered and he shook his head vehemently. "If you don't come here on your own the punishment will be even worse."

Cole bit down on his lower lip and slowly stepped closer to his so-called master.

"Good boy! Now give me your wrists!"

He did as he was told and stretched out both of his arms. The demon just touched the straps to his wrists and those straps winded around them. It was like having something alive around his wrists, some tainted and cold animal with pointed spikes that tore into his skin. He bit down on his tongue so hard that he felt blood in his mouth.

"Tonight you will be mine! Just that you know I didn't eat since you escaped… I prepared myself for this occasion" he licked at his lips and Cole shivered against his will. "Now though I have some things to arrange…."

With that he left Cole alone with his thoughts. He looked around in the small cave. Before he escaped this had been his home for about six months. In the corner there was a heap of rugs that was considered as his bed. And that was the whole equipment. He looked at the straps. Unfortunately he didn't know either how he managed to get rid of them… It just happened somehow and he used the opportunity. The straps were magical bonds – one of the many things Gardior invented, and Cole had the doubtful glory to be the rabbit used for experiments. Every time he tried to leave the place he was ordered to be, the spikes on the inside were digging deeper and deeper in his flesh and caused extreme pain and they also made possible for the guards to track down the bearer.

He slowly sat down in the corner. He knew what would happen when Gardior came back. Gardior was the scientist of the Underworld but in the first place he was a kind of nightmare-demon. The tentacle in his palm induced the most horrible images in the victim's mind and Gardior fed on the pain and terror that those pictures caused. He usually used humans for this purpose but they got mad too quickly, didn't last more than three or four uses. Cole on the other hand had been a demon and still was a magical being. And Gardior wanted to find out exactly how far he could go with him.

_He probably doesn't have to wait long to find out… _Cole thought quite put up, somehow he couldn't find the strength to be scared anymore.

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Phoebe was frantic. She was pacing back and forth in the attic and her thoughts always went back to the same person: Cole. She abandoned him once but she won't do it again.

But at the moment they had to wait. Chris was here and promised that he would ask around in the Underworld as the Elders knew nothing more about Gardior than they already said. Sometimes it was useful that they had such a renegade whitelighter. However he went about an hour ago and the waiting was slowly killing Phoebe.

She flinched when somebody put a hand on her shoulder. Then relaxed when she saw that it was Piper.

"We will get him back" her elder sister said.

"Yes, I won't give up."

It was bad enough that Cole didn't let her close in the last weeks. She couldn't even touch him but to lose him again seemed unbearable. _I will never complain about anything just let us get him back… _She didn't know to what kind of deity she prayed to but she welcomed every help. _Even if he never wants to have anything with me…_ And she meant it. She only realized how deep her love towards Cole was when she lost him. She wanted nothing more than see him full again. And if it was without her then be it…

Suddenly blue lights appeared and a haggard looking Chris stood in the middle of the attic.

"What happened to you?" asked Paige indicating his torn clothes and the bad bruise under his left eye.

"Nothing. Only some stubborn demons who didn't want to talk with me."

"Did you find out something?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes. I know where Gardior lives and can take you there, but…"

"Then let's go!" Phoebe cut in.

"… but" Chris continued without stopping "Gardior is a huge challenge. I don't think you can beat him."

"I don't care!" Phoebe snapped at him and her looks could have killed.

"I see. But if you die it won't be any better for Cole. We have to plan this thoroughly."

"Do you have any suggestions?" Piper asked putting a calming hand on Phoebe's arm.

"Yes, I think so. We could use the amulet that we got from Shar. One of you has to challenge Gardior and fight him until the others get to Cole. One of the demons knew where he keeps his slaves."

"Slaves?"

"Don't ask. Piper should fight Gardior, she has the most appropriate power, I'll diverse the guards, Paige and Phoebe orb to the cells."

"But how do you want to occupy the guards?"

"I have my methods and I'll borrow some of your potions if you agree."

"Of course."

"The only problem is how we'll get out of there. The wards don't let you orb out."

"Then?"

"I have an idea. Something I already tried in the future however it's a human method."

"What is it?"

"An explosion. Those wards are protected only against magic and not human destruction. But I need some time to gather the needed explosives."

"But we don't have time!" Phoebe said.

"Listen! I don't let you run in danger. You have to wait until I get ready. Cole managed there for almost a year I guess he can hold on another day."

"Twelve hours" Piper said brooking no opposition.

"All right I come back as soon as possible."

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Meanwhile in the Underworld Cole was screaming and he couldn't stop. The images changed so quickly that he couldn't even catch them but they were all horrible. Death and pain and horror in every possible amount – this was far the worst experience he's ever had with Gardior, however he had plenty. This was like the end of the world… or at least the end of his sanity…

It was harder and harder not to lose himself totally and it didn't seem as if Gardior wanted to stop in the near future.

He didn't feel the cave around himself or the stone under his knees. But he must have been kneeling as it always happened the same way: he was kneeling on the ground, the demon stood behind him and pushed the tentacle deep in the back of his neck and into his brain. The back of his neck hurt with every motion but he still couldn't stop writhing as he struggled to get somehow away… but there was no way out.

_His mother killing his father… Phoebe in a particularly obscene position, obviously dead… people he knew and people he didn't, dead, torn, bleeding and tortured…_

Some of those pictures were memories, others were created by Gardior's power and he never knew which were worse.

He tried to grab some conscious thoughts, something that wasn't horrific but there was nothing. Everywhere he looked, everywhere he touched there was blood and pain and slowly his mind crumbled under the attack…

It seemed that hours went by and when the demon pulled away he simply collapsed to the ground. Gardior said something but Cole couldn't make out the words anymore. His mind still replayed the horrific scenes and he just wanted to switch it out somehow.

He crawled into the corner and pulled the torn rug over his head but the pictures stayed with him even after he drifted into unconsciousness.

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	8. Chapter 7

**AN:** Sorry for the long delay but this chapter caused me a lot of trouble and I don't even know why! But now it is here and I couldn't make it any better. It isn't double-checked so they might be even more mistakes than usually - I didn't dare to read it again, because I was afraid that if I did I would delete it again!

Thank you for the reviews (please leave some for this chapter too...) and thank you for reading it at all!

**Chapter 7.**

Piper felt amazingly calm and excited at the same moment. It was a strange feeling but she knew where it came from. In the last year, with Wyatt around she slowly lost the leading role in the family. Yes, of course she was still the eldest sister but in magical matters Paige took over her place mostly. Now though she was in top form and was preparing herself to match with a very powerful demon. She had to admit that she was hungry for the challenge. She often complained about the disadvantages that came together with being a witch and champion of good but she loved it. In moments like these she felt that she did something really important. And being on an adrenaline-high wasn't such a bad feeling, either.

She stood in front of a house… or something like that. They were in the Underworld, in the area where – due to Chris – Gardior lived and supposedly this was his house. It looked like a medieval castle carved into the rocks.

She touched the amulet that she wore around her neck, took a deep breath and blew the door open.

She came into a large room that was almost empty except the few huge columns that were decorated like those in the ancient Greece. Piper looked around and then did as Chris suggested.

"Gardior!" she shouted as loud as she could. "I challenge you to a duel in accordance to the old demonic law! Come and meet me!"

There was a sizzling sound and the demon appeared on the opposite side of the room.

"Do you want to die, witch?" he asked in a grumbling voice.

"No intention of dying, thank you!" Piper and raised her hands to blow up the demon.

His left arm vanished and he screamed out but the arm grew back almost immediately.

"If I were you I wouldn't anger myself" he said and waved swung his renewed arm.

Piper felt the magical power engulf her but the amulet prevented it from working and she stayed steady.

"Interesting…" the demon mumbled and came closer.

Piper lashed out with her power again and the strength of the explosion threw Gardior against one of the columns so hard that the building seemed to quiver.

This went on for a while and the demon exerted more and more power, so much in the end that it already an effect on Piper and she found herself on the ground more than once. But to her joy the demon looked more and more battered than her.

She guessed that she spent enough time here and decided that she should finish the so-called duel. They had a very accurate plan and she knew that in a few minutes she should be at the meeting point.

Gardior was on the ground at the moment and Piper didn't hesitate: she let two columns explode in rapid fire and the pieces practically covered the demon.

Piper threw a last glance at his unmoving body and then rushed out of the palace and turned right. Chris had drawn a quite detailed map of these part of Gardior's empire that they all memorized before departure. Where Chris got this kind of information he didn't tell but until now all his data proved to be correct.

Piper was running in the direction from where she saw smoke flying up. She knew it was caused by Chris who got the task to distract the guards until Paige and Phoebe got Cole out.

Soon she saw not just the smoke but also heard the shouting and screams and when she came even closer she glimpsed Chris fighting two demons at once and she saw five others lying around. She also saw some heaps of ash that indicated that some of the guards weren't lucky enough to stay in one piece.

Then suddenly Chris waved with both of his hands and the two demons flew in opposite directions. Piper stopped dead in her track. _What the hell? _Piper thought. This was definitely telekinesis but how?

Chris looked around and glimpsed Piper. She clearly saw as he blushed.

"You are a witch!" Piper said stunned.

Chris licked his lips and his eyes were quickly darting around as if he were looking for some way out. Then his shoulders slumped in a submissive manner.

"Yes."

There was a kind of sadness and pain in his eyes that Piper has never seen before and she quickly reconsidered the accusing words that were on her tongue.

"We will talk about this later" she said instead. "Let's go!"

The relief on the young man's face spoke volumes and he followed Piper without another word.

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Paige and Phoebe appeared in a dark tunnel. They both had backpacks with that contained the explosives that Chris gained from somewhere. At the moment they could only hope that they were in the right place. A few torches lit the area and it was grimly quiet. From the distance though they could soon hear some noises. They carefully started forward without saying a word. The plan was made, so they didn't need to discuss it further. After a few meters they turned into a more lit part and glimpsed two demons standing in front of a barred gate. Phoebe threw the potion they brought with and both demons turned into ashes. It went quite smoothly and they went on but in front of the gate Phoebe stopped and made Paige stop as well. Five men and two women were there huddled together at the back of the cave wall fear evident on their faces. Paige instantly remembered what Chris told them about Gardior having human slaves.

"We can't leave them here" Phoebe whispered and Paige had to agree. They looked so vulnerable and hurt.

"But how could we save them?"

Phoebe took out a piece of paper that Chris draw them to show where the best place would be for them to break the wards with an explosion.

"I think we could break out here."

"But it's already the edge of the suited part."

"It's still good."

Chris said that behind the cave walls there was another tunnel-system, a much older one that wasn't protected. Where he knew this from he didn't tell but he seemed very sure about it. He has drawn the part of the caves where the two systems connected.

"We find Cole, come back here and put the explosives into place."

Paige threw a last glimpse at the people in there and nodded.

"Okay."

Further in the tunnel there were some other doors, these though were wooden doors closed with heavy bolts. On the top of every of them was a small barred window. Most of the cells were empty but when Paige looked into the last one he saw something in the farthest corner.

"I think this is the right one" she whispered and took out another vial from her pocket.

They drew backwards and then Paige threw the vial at the door. There was a small explosion, some smoke and they could open the door.

Phoebe went in first and rushed to the heap in the corner. Paige could see the dark hair peeping out from under the ragged blanket and knew it had to be Cole but he didn't react at all. When Phoebe pulled the rag away from his body they could see that he was trembling heavily.

"Cole!" Phoebe said gently trying to wake him up by touching his shoulder and shaking him carefully.

He slowly opened his eyes but the trembling of his body didn't stop. His eyes were still fuzzy, however there was a slight light of recognition in them.

"It's me, Phoebe. I'm sorry, but you have to stand up, dear. Please, help me" she addressed it to both Cole and Paige. So Paige went closer and took Cole's other arm.

Together they managed to bring the man into a standing position but even after he was standing they didn't dare to let go of him as he seemed to be very shaky on his legs.

"All right. Let's go and hope that Chris and Piper will arrive here soon."

Paige and Phoebe struggled to keep Cole on his feet. He might have lost a lot of weight that he couldn't gain back in the last few weeks but he was still much taller and heavier than the girls. He was staggering and shivering constantly and a few times he almost managed to knock them over. But after some struggling they managed to get back to the larger cave.

Paige took out another vial and did the same trick on this gate as well. They slowly edged inside and saw that the people in there drew back even further into the wall.

"Don't worry…" Phoebe said quietly and calmly however Paige could see that she was quite overwhelmed by the strong emotions in the room. "We are here to help you out."

She released Cole and Paige did the same which caused the man to slowly sliding to the ground. The girls put down their bags and packed out the dynamite. They needed Chris to activate it but they wanted to be ready for the fleeing.

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	9. Chapter 8

AN: I'm sorry for the delay! Again! I have to face the truth: I'm a slow writer... Anyway, here's the next chapter! Thank you for reading it, I hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 8.

Piper and Chris arrived not much later. Phoebe was already overwhelmed by the large amount of emotional turmoil in the cave but when their sister and whitelighter joined them, she felt something largely different. She couldn't even pinpoint the accurate feeling, but she was sure that it must have come of Chris as Piper's emotions were blocked. She felt fear, confusion and strangely happiness at the same time and something else… maybe relief.

But neither Chris nor Piper said a word about what had happened to them: Chris just shrugged and Piper said 'later!' in a voice that brooked no opposition. However Phoebe decided that she will find out later.

Now she was very much occupied by Cole and _his_ emotions. Since they came into this cave he didn't even move he just sat there, his back leant against the cave-wall and staring into nothingness. Phoebe wasn't sure if he knew where he was.

Chris started to arm the explosives. Where he knew about such thing was another thing that Phoebe decided to find out later! He worked quickly and a few minutes later they a little bit back further and Chris blasted the dynamite. It cause a huge rumble, the banging noise echoing off the walls of the cave. Smoke and dust filled the room but it sank down quickly and they found a huge opening where there the back-wall of the cave had been before and behind the opening a tunnel led somewhere.

Meanwhile Phoebe tried to look out not just for Cole but for the humans as well. There were seven of them: five men and two women and they were still quite scared. She could still find out that much that they haven't spent here a long time. One of the men – whose name was Phil – spent here almost two months and this was the longest time amongst them. After some persuasion they decided that they could trust Phoebe and her sisters.

So they all started off into the tunnel. Chris and Paige went forward, after them the prisoners huddled together, then Phoebe with Cole – she didn't feel like releasing his hand! – and Piper was the rear-guard.

They didn't walk for long when they heard noises from the cave they'd just left behind. And those were furious voices of some demons.

They immediately went into a higher gear.

Then the voices died out and a few seconds later another explosion shook the walls of the tunnel… Phoebe felt the wave of enormous magical power then everything around them seemed to collapse and she knew only darkness…

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When Phoebe opened her eyes again nothing changed. She saw only blackness and heard nothing.

"Somebody…?" she choked out and coughed.

She massaged her ears and they literally cracked. She realized that they must have been stuck because of the huge explosion. Now she could hear something… somebody moving around.

"Piper?" she asked and started to groping around.

Soon she touched rocks and not much time later a human hand. She would have realized it everywhere: it was Cole. He was awake, that much was sure because he drew his hand away instantly.

"Phoebe?" it was Piper's voice from further away.

"I'm here. Are you okay?"

"I think so… my temple is bleeding… but I don't think it's serious. You?"

"I'm fine."

"Paige?"

There was no answer and Phoebe meanwhile reached the spot where Piper was, then she crashed into rocks again.

"I don't think anybody else is here…" she mumbled soon as she realized that they were in a small pit that was created by the explosion.

"Chris!" Piper cried out for their whitelighter.

Nothing happened.

"Paige!" Phoebe tried as well but there was no answer either.

"Do you think that they…" Piper started but didn't finish the question.

"No!" Phoebe said categorically. "I'm sure we would know if something happened to Paige!"

"You are right."

Phoebe meanwhile moved back to Cole.

"Hey, dear" she started gently, "are you okay?"

She didn't expect an answer so she was more than stunned when she heard the faint question:

"Phoebe…?" his voice was barely audiable and Phoebe thought that she only imagined the word, but then Cole touched her hand and squeezed it slightly.

"Yes, it's me" she felt tears in her eyes. "It's me…"

"Where…?" he couldn't finish the question because he started to cough.

"We are still in the Underworld, in a cave" Phoebe said. Meanwhile she registered that Piper came closer to them. "The cave collapsed in and we can't get out."

She felt that Cole started to move and struggled into a sitting position.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked however she knew that he probably wasn't… still it was a great improvement that he spoke again.

Now he didn't answer though.

"Hey, Cole!" Piper said and Phoebe felt him tense to the sudden voice.

"It's okay!" Phoebe tried to calm him immediately. "It's only Piper."

"I'm sorry" Piper added. "I just wanted to ask… if maybe… couldn't you try to shimmer us out of here? Because I tried to call Chris but he doesn't answer…"

"Don't know…" Cole answered hoarsely. It sounded as if he had forgotten how to use his voice.

There was a longer silence then he added.

"Maybe…"

"All right, then. Maybe you should try. What could happen?" Phoebe encouraged him.

"We could fall into pieces…" came the quiet answer from the darkness.

"Great…" Piper mumbled under her nose.

"Then maybe we should still wait. Chris might come…" Phoebe said.

After that they sat in silence for a while. Phoebe moved closer to Cole and she felt that he wanted to pull away.

"Please, don't!" she said quietly. "I won't feel anything…"

He didn't answer but stayed where he was.

"Thank you…"

"It's quite airless here" Piper said and the sudden sound made even Phoebe jump not to mention Cole. "How long do you think it will last?" she asked carefully.

Phoebe hasn't thought about this so far.

"Shit!" she said.

"I hope somebody shows up here soon…" Piper added.

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Paige was pacing back and forth in the attic. She was more than anxious… she was frantic. Where the hell was Chris so long! After the explosion they orbed out the prisoners and Paige went to Daryl and asked him to care about them. They probably were in a hospital right now. Chris meanwhile went back to bring out the others but now almost an hour went by and he wasn't back. Paige tried to sense her sisters but she wasn't too good at it especially not when she was this nervous. She even tried to orb back to the place where they were separated. But she had no luck, she guessed she didn't find the exact place.

So now she was pacing around and looking at her watch every two seconds.

Suddenly there were blue orbs but the relieved sigh died on her lips when Chris appeared alone.

"What happened?" she asked, or rather shouted.

"I couldn't sense them."

"Does this mean…?"

"No!" he cut in.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I would know if Piper… and Phoebe were dead…"

Paige missed his little hesitation, she was too much engulfed in her own worries.

"Any suggestions?" Paige asked.

"I'll go back to search for them… maybe we should call Leo as well…"

"Really? Is it that bad?" Paige knew that Chris _never_ asked for Leo. Every time they met, it ended in an argument… or a shouting match.

Now he nodded though and Paige shouted immediately for her brother-in-law.

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"How much time do you think passed?" asked Phoebe after a longer silent period. Nobody answered.

"Piper?"

"Hmmm…?" her sister mumbled.

"You mustn't sleep in!"

She suddenly realized that they must do something. She also started to feel light-headed. Clear symptoms that they didn't get enough oxygen.

"Cole?"

He squeezed her hand indicating that he was listening. Since they were here he didn't speak much: only a few words and no full sentences.

"I think you should try to shimmer us out after all…"

"What's wrong?" Piper asked clearly more awake now.

"We are short on air here. If we don't get out soon, we won't get out at all."

She could easily imagine the frown on her elder sister's face.

"If Cole feels up to it…" Piper said then hesitantly.

There was a long silence. Too long for Phoebe's liking but she didn't want to urge him into anything.

"Okay…" he said then quietly.

Phoebe heard Piper coming closer and felt Cole shudder. She knew that Piper must have touched his other hand.

"Let's go to the Manor…" Piper said.

Phoebe has shimmered with Cole plenty of times but this was nothing like those. It didn't go too smoothly. It was as if they were driving a car on the edge of breaking down. They appeared somewhere with a crash. Phoebe felt dizzy and felt Cole stumble forward. She made an attempt to hold him but with no use. She only achieved that Cole pulled her with himself and they both fell.

"This was like a rollercoaster…" moaned Piper.

Phoebe staggered into a kneeling position next to Cole. He was lying on his back breathing heavily.

"Are you all right?" she asked and Cole nodded slightly but he watched the ceiling of the room they were in and didn't look into Phoebe's eyes.

This was the moment when Phoebe realized that they were nowhere near the Manor. She looked around. They were in the Mausoleum: Cole's favorite hiding place. What did he tell? The second safest place he knew…

"Can you stand up?" she asked but Cole didn't react at all. "It seems we are back at the same point…" she said quietly.

"No," Piper who meanwhile walked to their side said, "he will get better. I'm sure."

In that moment between blue orbs two figures appeared Chris and Leo.

"You are okay!" the Elder ran to her wife and hugged her tightly.

"Yes. Let's get back home!" Piper gave out the order and they all disappeared together.

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End file.
